Increased actions in Cuba to fight dengue feverIncreased actions in Cuba to fight dengue fever

Havana, July 29 (RHC)-- The Cuban Ministry of Public Health is stepping up actions to deal with the increase in suspected and confirmed cases of dengue fever, it was reported Thursday during a meeting between President Miguel Diaz-Canel and experts.

In Cuba, increased diagnostic tests for the disease and hospital beds are made available for the treatment of the sick, said the Minister of Public Health José Ángel Portal.

In the third week of July, 23,758 non-specific febrile cases were identified (5,989 more than in week 28) and 10,590 samples of IgM SUMA were processed for dengue diagnosis, with a positivity of 45.1 percent, for a total of 4,776 reactive cases.

The health minister specified that this is not as severe an epidemic as others previously reported, but the numbers call for a greater perception of risk and action on the part of the authorities and the population.

A press release from the Presidency of the Republic's website specified that the focus of the Aedes aegypti mosquito was 115 percent higher compared to the same week in 2021.

Deputy Minister of Public Health Reinol Garcia said at the meeting that for the hospitalization of patients with dengue three thousand 436 beds have been deployed both in Intensive Care units, Intensive Surveillance units and conventional care wards.

The press release added that Díaz-Canel insisted on this point on applying the protocols for dengue according to the experience accumulated in the fight against Covid-19, as well as guaranteeing the quality of hospitalization at home and, above all, developing a preventive work that anticipates the appearance of cases.

Recently, in the National Assembly of People's Power, the sector presented the strategy to face arbovirosis in the country, which has the community as its main scenario.

Traditionally, in Cuba, actions against this virus are focused on reducing the infestation rates of its transmitting agent, the Aedes Aegyti mosquito, for which purpose visits are made to communities to eliminate the sources where this insect can live, as well as fumigation.

Dengue is transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito and causes symptoms that can be mild or severe and include headache, muscle and joint pain, fever and erythema.